Notes from the Wayside: Introspection: The Love of Bridges and the Bridges of Love

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The Love of Bridges and the Bridges of Love

For in [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:19-20 (NRSV)

For [Christ] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

Ephesians 2:14 (NRSV)

We reject the either/or

They can't define us anymore

Cause if it's us or them

It's us for them

From "Us for Them" by Gungor

I make it a habit to use one week of vacation time every summer, though I never travel or do anything significant during my week off. This year, I wanted to be a little more intentional about how I use this week, so I made it a point to visit the Poinsett Bridge, a local landmark, at some point during the week. I've noticed that this bridge is a popular subject for local photographers, so I decided to see it for myself and to take some pictures of my own.

On Monday morning during my week off, I got into my car and, equipped with my phone's GPS, drove to the bridge, planning to stop for breakfast and coffee along the way.

The Poinsett Bridge is believed to be the oldest remaining bridge in my state. It was built in 1820 as part of an important road connecting my state and the states to the north. There is now a walking trail nearby.¹ The bridge is a thirty-minute drive away from where I live, and it is located just off the side of a mountain road. Luckily, there is a place to park on the other side of the road. When viewed from the top, the bridge looks like an unremarkable dirt path, but, when viewed from the sides, it is a thing of beauty. I walked over the bridge and under the bridge, taking lots of pictures with my phone in the hopes of getting a handful of good ones. Before I left, I spent some time just sitting on a rock and admiring the bridge.

The Poinsett Bridge

The restaurant where I had planned to eat breakfast happened to be closed that day, so I headed into a nearby town to get something to eat and, more importantly, to get some caffeine into my system. On my way to the Poinsett Bridge, I noticed a sign for another bridge, so, when I left the town, I decided to check it out too. My morning excursion turned into a short "bridge tour."

Campbell's Covered Bridge is now perhaps the only covered bridge left in my state. The bridge was constructed in 1909 and is named after a wealthy landowner. The surrounding area is currently being converted into a park.² I only spent a few minutes at this bridge, but I made a point to take some pictures of it as well.

Campbell's Covered Bridge

That evening, after eating dinner with my grandmother, I went to Furman University, my alma mater, to take a walk. While I was walking around campus, I noticed yet another bridge on one of the trails, a bridge I had crossed many times over the years. Since I always have my phone with me, I decided to take a picture of it as well. Why not?

A Bridge at Furman University

Two weeks earlier, while I was taking a long walk downtown, I decided to explore a lovely little nook I pass by every morning as I drive to work. The Rock Quarry Garden, as its name suggests, was at one time the site of a granite quarry. It was converted by the Greenville Garden Club into a garden, which can now be reserved for weddings.³ This garden features a variety of plant life, green grass, some sculptures, a waterfall, a stream, and, of course, a bridge over the stream. I took some pictures, and I used the picture of the bridge as my cover photo on Facebook.

A Bridge at the Rock Quarry Garden

I'm starting to think I might have an affinity for bridges.

I've pondered whether or not there is something that draws me to bridges, aside from a general love of beautiful architecture. I keep thinking about something I've said about Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, the church I joined last year. I've told a number of my friends that I consider myself blessed to be part of a congregation that wants to build bridges when it seems that so many Christians are more interested in building walls.

Walls separate what's connected.
Bridges connect what's separated.

The church I attended for a while before I started attending my current church once offered a study on the teachings of Islam, led by Christian missionaries to Muslim countries. I wasn't particularly interested in the study because I didn't think it would be very beneficial. I never voiced my opinion, but I thought that, if Christians really want to know the teachings of the Islamic faith, then they should probably ask actual Muslims what they believe and not people who try to get Muslims to convert to another religion.

In early 2016, shortly after I started attending my current church, the congregation joined people from the local Islamic society for an inter-faith dinner and dialogue. After enjoying some Middle-Eastern cuisine, both congregations had the opportunity to listen to a conversation between the senior pastor of my church and a leader in the Islamic community. I learned that Muslims believe that God created us all different so that we would find each other interesting. We were never meant to be afraid of people different from ourselves: our differences were meant to draw us together. I learned that, in our differences, we're all meant to "compete for the good," doing our best to serve God and bringing out the best in each other in the process.⁴

One conversation before dinner stands out in my memory. A woman from my church told a woman from the Muslim community that her headscarf - her hijab - was lovely and asked her where she got it. The woman said that she bought it at TJ Maxx. This conversation sticks in my memory because it shows how similar we really are. We might have different religious beliefs, but we all look for bargains at the same department stores.

Back in January of this year, the men's group from my church joined some men from the Islamic society at a local food bank to pack boxes of non-perishable food items. After we were done, we all ate lunch together. That evening, a number of local news programs ran stories about our work at the food bank. We wanted to serve the needy, but we also wanted to set an example for our community. We wanted to let everyone know that Christians and Muslims are not enemies and that we can all work together for the common good, even if we don't share the same religious beliefs.

My church has sought to build bridges in a number of other ways.

Earlier this year, the chancel choir from my church teamed up with the choir from a nearby Jewish synagogue. They sang together first during a service at my church and later at a festival at the synagogue.

For the last two years, my church, which has a predominately white congregation, has partnered with another nearby church with a predominantly African American congregation for Holy Thursday and Good Friday services.

In late 2016, on the evening of Election Day, my church held a special service of Holy Communion. During most Communion services at my church, there are two stations at which people can receive the bread and the wine. People typically go to the station that is on the same side of the sanctuary on which they were sitting. During the service on Election Day, there was only one station for receiving the elements, so people on both the left and the right had to meet in the middle to receive Communion.⁵ I have a feeling that, at the end of a very divisive election cycle, this service was designed to remind us of what unites us as a congregation.

It is important that we swim in the currents that will lead us to where we need to go. Last year, I decided to join Travelers Rest United Methodist Church because I believe it is different from most other churches. I'm hoping that, by attending a bridge-building church, I will become more of a bridge builder myself.

St. Paul writes in one of his letters that Christ has brought together peoples of different cultures and ethnicities, who were once divided by religion, by breaking down the wall of hostility between them.⁶ We build walls between ourselves and others because we fear those we want to keep on the other side, but to build what Christ came to break down is by definition anti-Christian. St. John writes that "God is love," that "there is no fear in love," and that "perfect love casts out fear."⁷

Paul includes in his Letter to the Colossians what is believed to be an early hymn about Christ, who is both "the image of the invisible God" and "the firstborn of all creation." This hymn proclaims that, in Christ, "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell" and that, through Christ, "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things." This hymn also tells us that Christ is "the head of the body, the church."⁸ Christ, the embodiment of God's love, calls us beyond our wall-building tendencies into the ministry of reconciliation, which some might call "bridge-building."

Walls are built out of fear.
Bridges are built out of love.

If Christ came to reconcile all things to God and if the Church is indeed the Body of Christ, then, as the hands and feet of Christ, Christians must be in the bridge-building business. Furthermore, if Christ came to break down the walls of hostility between us, then Christians must also be in the wall-demolition business. May God give us the courage to break down our walls and the love to build bridges in their place.

A View from the Underside of the Poinsett Bridge

Notes:

Greenville County Rec: Poinsett Bridge
Greenville County Rec: Campbell's Covered Bridge
Upcountry South Carolina: Rock Quarry Falls
Jonathan Tompkins and Akan Malici. "Competing for the Good: A Congresation with Christian and Muslim Neighbors." Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, 04/18/2016.
Jonathan Tompkins. "How Can I Practice Politics and Keep the Faith?" Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, 04/03/2017.
Ephesians 2:11-22
1 John 4:16, 18 (NRSV)
Colossians 1:15-20 (NRSV)